The True Love Experiment


 Contents
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Dedication
 Prologue: Fizzy
 Chapter One: Fizzy
 Chapter Two: Connor
 Chapter Three: Connor
 Chapter Four: Fizzy
 Chapter Five: Connor
 Chapter Six: Fizzy
 Chapter Seven: Connor
 Chapter Eight: Fizzy
 Chapter Nine: Connor
 Chapter Ten: Fizzy
 Chapter Eleven: Fizzy
 Chapter Twelve: Connor
 Chapter Thirteen: Fizzy
 Chapter Fourteen: Connor
 Chapter Fifteen: Fizzy
 Chapter Sixteen: Connor
 Chapter Seventeen: Fizzy
 Chapter Eighteen: Connor
 Chapter Nineteen: Fizzy
 Chapter Twenty: Connor
 Chapter Twenty-One: Fizzy
 Chapter Twenty-Two: Connor
 Chapter Twenty-Three: Fizzy
 Chapter Twenty-Four: Connor
 Chapter Twenty-Five
 Chapter Twenty-Six: Fizzy
 Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fizzy
 Chapter Twenty-Eight: Connor
 Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fizzy
 Chapter Thirty
 Chapter Thirty-One: Connor
 Chapter Thirty-Two: Connor
 Chapter Thirty-Three: Fizzy
 Chapter Thirty-Four: Connor
 Chapter Thirty-Five: Fizzy
 Chapter Thirty-Six: Fizzy
 Chapter Thirty-Seven: Connor
 Chapter Thirty-Eight: Fizzy
 Chapter Thirty-Nine: Connor
 Chapter Forty: Connor
 Chapter Forty-One: Fizzy
 Chapter Forty-Two: Fizzy
 Chapter Forty-Three: Connor
 Chapter Forty-Four: Fizzy
 Chapter Forty-Five: Connor
 Chapter Forty-Six: Fizzy
 Chapter Forty-Seven: Connor
 Chapter Forty-Eight: Fizzy
 Chapter Forty-Nine: Fizzy
 Chapter Fifty: Fizzy
 Chapter Fifty-One
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 Copyright
 
 
 
 Guide
 
 Cover
 Start of Content
 Title Page
 Dedication
 Prologue
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 Copyright
 
 
 
 
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 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Soulmate Equation and Something Wilder
 Christina Lauren
 The True Love Experiment
 
 
 
 
 
 ALSO BY CHRISTINA LAUREN
 Dating You / Hating You
 Roomies
 Love and Other Words
 Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating
 My Favorite Half-Night Stand
 The Unhoneymooners
 Twice in a Blue Moon
 The Honey-Don’t List
 In a Holidaze
 The Soulmate Equation
 Something Wilder
 THE BEAUTIFUL SERIES
 Beautiful Bastard
 Beautiful Stranger
 Beautiful Bitch
 Beautiful Bombshell
 Beautiful Player
 Beautiful Beginning
 Beautiful Beloved
 Beautiful Secret
 Beautiful Boss
 Beautiful
 THE WILD SEASONS SERIES
 Sweet Filthy Boy
 Dirty Rowdy Thing
 Dark Wild Night
 Wicked Sexy Liar
 YOUNG ADULT
 The House
 Sublime
 Autoboyography
 
 
 This one is a blatant love letter to our genre.
 There be romance in these pages.
 And for Jennifer Yuen, Patty Lai, Eileen Ho, Kayla Lee, and Sandria Wong.
 There’s a piece of each of you in here.
 We are so grateful that you shared yourselves, and we hope we’ve made you proud.
 
 
 
 
 prologue FIZZY
 I was born the first of three children, but I joke that I’m like that first pancake.” A smattering of laughter ripples across the assembled crowd and I smile. “You know what I mean? A little messy, slightly undercooked, but still tastes good?”
 The laughter intensifies, but mixed in now are a few bawdy catcalls, and I burst out laughing in realization. “See, and that wasn’t even meant to sound saucy! Look at me trying to be professional, and I’m still a mess.” I glance over my shoulder and grin at Dr. Leila Nguyen, the provost of UC San Diego’s Revelle College and my former creative writing professor. “I guess that’s what you get for inviting a romance author to give the commencement address.”
 Beside Dr. Nguyen sits another person struggling to smother a smile. Dr. River Peña—close friend, hot genius, and unconfirmed vampire—is also a special guest today; I guess he’s receiving yet another honorary degree for being some type of sexy prodigy. He looks like he belongs up here: stiff collar, perfectly pressed suit pants visible below the hem of his full doctoral regalia, shiny dress shoes, and an air of austerity I’ve never been able to master. Right now, I can see the knowing amusement light up his smug, thickly lashed eyes.
 When I first received the invitation to speak at this ceremony,